shopping

All posts tagged shopping

During my last post I mentioned that my parents were coming down to visit for a few days – there have been a few health issues with them both over the last 18 months so I wasn’t sure how fit they were going to be.

I needn’t have worried – we ate out a lot, drank a drop or two of wine, we shopped until we dropped, Mr ShoeThatAlwaysFits took us sightseeing and we even took in a round of pitch and putt when taking a break from all the shopping, eating and drinking.

The pitch and putt was hilarious – it brought out the inner competitor in all of us and there were multiple displays of childlike delight on achieving a hole in one and foot stomping frustrations at gaining a par five or more per hole.

My mother was particularly enthusiastic when driving off, with some of her shots ricocheting around the course. Mr ShoeThatAlwaysFits won on the day, although he has the twin advantages of good eyesight and a sizeable amount of hand-eye coordination. We would have stayed longer if they improved their wine list, but that’s a small complaint on an otherwise hilarious outing.

I also showed my parents around our new offices, however, I’m not sure I would recommend “Bring Your Parents to Work” – it meant all of my staff were trying to be super polite whilst my parents were intent on being mischievous. Our R&D team really didn’t know how to respond to some of mum’s more pointed questions. And I did find myself explaining some of the nerdier t-shirt designs because of it being dress-down Friday.

All in all in was a fabulous visit and I can’t wait until the next one. If in doubt, pitch and putt, it really bonds a family together all the while bringing out the aeons old rivalries – a bit like Monopoly but less cutthroat.

In these days of instant access to everything, the simple pleasure of waiting for something to arrive cannot be under estimated.

I love shopping, in person, with friends (although that usually leads to wine) and I love shopping online. The browsing itself is a joy – as long as your focused, that is. I have my favourite shops and most retailers have online equivalents now. I love to shop around and keep things in my shopping bag so that when I need (you could replace need here with want/can afford to) to I can simply buy them. If I’m in a hurry I can choose express delivery, if not, then the anticipation of waiting a few days makes their arrival all the better.

Amazon is a firm staple, along with Boden and ASOS – little parcels of happiness arriving either at home or at work. It’s so easy to return items now too, fill out a form, take what you don’t want back to the post office and job done. I probably do about 80% of my clothes shopping this way. I know the brands that work for me, I can co-ordinate from the same range and I can try things on at home with the rest of my wardrobe available as fillers.

I know that not everyone is a fan, and I love browsing on the high street and try to support independent boutiques too.

In a way, shopping online reminds me of my childhood, we lived in a pretty remote spot in Scotland, where the nearest high street shops seemed like a lifetime away (well a ferry trip and train ride away anyway) and we used to order clothes from Mum’s catalogue. Waiting for those items to arrive was always a thrill, just like waiting for an online order to arrive now. A parcel full of hope. And in a fast paced world, where everything is instantly available, having to wait a short amount of time for something should be cherished.